Why It Matters

Heavily armed police raids: Abundance of caution, or risky show of force? After a similar incident in 2006 in which an officer accidentally shot and killed an optometrist, Fairfax County police said they’d be more selective about using such a level of force in the future. The recent incident is another example in the ongoing debate over increasing militarization of police departments and excessive use of force.

Opinion One

Such shows of force are unnecessary, raise the stakes and increase the risk of someone being hurt or killed, some community groups and private citizens argue. The American Civil Liberties Union asserts that heavily armed SWAT teams around the country are raiding homes simply to search for drugs.

Neighborhoods are not war zones, the ACLU and others argue, but each year the federal government sends billions of dollars worth of military equipment to state and local law enforcement. Departments use these weapons, meant for war, in everyday policing. The focus on the failed war on drugs unfairly targets people of color, they argue.

Opinion Two

Police representatives argue that officers must take every raid and arrest seriously. They must assume that suspects are armed and intend to harm officers.

In the case of card games, officers have at times found illegal weapons, and armed robberies occur, a spokeswoman for the Fairfax County Police Department stated.

/u/bigbriman says, “The best part, and the key driver for the raid, is Fairfax County Police can keep anywhere from 40-100% of the cash they seized, depending on how the defendants plea. This is nothing short of Government sponsored robbery.” via reddit.

It’s well known that police these days must be well armed and ready to act. They must assume the worst can and will happen. If you had a law enforcement officer in your family you would be glad of this.

Unfortunately, the time when officers could suppose everyone to be innocent – is long gone. I’d like to know how the police were notified and called? Is this a “neighbor looking through the window, bothered by the noise case?” or is it the police overstepping their authority?

If the Police were called in by a neighbor, they should keep the funds from illegal gambling and turn them in. I don’t have a problem with that. A wee bit more gambling and maybe taxes can go down!

I can agree with the need for police to assure their safety while addressing illegal activities in homes. And if the matter of confiscating ill-gotten, illegal gains is a real issue – perhaps its best to assure those seizures go only to reducing local tax rates. Then anyone can get behind it. The issue of how they know a poker game is ongoing is a sticky one. Would they have charged in if the money were less? People have a right to privacy in their home – the facts better add up. If they have duly registered arms – they should not lose them because they played poker in their own home.